Legacy Fund
Riverview First United Methodist Church was founded in 1846—the very first Methodist church in Hillsborough County, Florida. In a couple of years, we will be 175 years old. We have been serving the Riverview community from our corner at Riverview Drive and U.S. 301 South for several generations.
As our church building and grounds continue to age, (along with many in our congregation), we recognize that soon many major repairs will need to be made. The roofs of our sanctuary and our youth building will need to be replaced sometime within the next few years. Our air conditioning systems are failing with increased frequency, and replacement parts for these units (installed before 1975) are becoming harder to find. Dead trees need to be removed, and many of our large oaks need to be trimmed throughout the property. Our wish list for future improvements include adding a bathroom in the sanctuary building and a playground area for our children.
Accordingly, the Finance Committee and the Trustees have created a Legacy Fund—a savings account held at the Florida United Methodist Foundation in Lakeland. We have pledged to add $100 a week to the Legacy Fund. We have an initial goal of raising $25,000 to replace our sanctuary roof within five years.
Our regular general fund is used to pay staff salaries, to fund programs like VBS and children and adult education, to pay our apportionments and other connectional obligations, and to pay our utilities and routine maintenance. We also have a dedicated building fund which we use to make emergency repairs, which recently have included air conditioning repair, and significant repairs to the septic and plumbing systems at the parsonage.
The Legacy Fund is over and above these funding sources. Its purpose is to provide a savings vehicle to help us meet anticipated future buildings and grounds improvements. It is not a replacement for the other funds, but an additional way for our members to commit a portion of their treasure for the future survival and growth of our church.
We are asking that everyone occasionally designate a little extra in their offering envelope towards the Legacy Fund. We are looking to increase our overall giving by about $100 per week over our average weekly giving of about $4,000—an increase of about 2.5%. The Legacy Fund is also a way for our older members to designate a behest as part of their estate planning.
We are all looking forward to 2021 when RUMC can wave its banner high at the Florida Annual Conference as we will celebrate 175 years of continuous service to the Riverview community.
Sunday Services
Early Worship Service,
8:00 AM
Sunday School, 9:00 AM
Relationships/Refreshments, 10:00 AM-10:25 AM
Worship Service, 10:30 AM
Hispanic Worship Service
12:00 Noon
Rev. Louis Telcy, Pastor
Norma Encarnacion, Lay Pastor, Hispanic Congregationn
Here at Riverview First United Methodist Church, it is our mission to win people to Christ, to train believers to become disciples, and to send disciples to impact our community and the world for Jesus Christ.
Breakfast at our New Worship Service
Our growing 8:00 AM worship service will now include a continental breakfast. This service is informally held in our Fellowship Hall. It has been designed to meet the worship needs of families and others with a busy Sunday schedule. Drop in, share a mini breakfast from 7:30—8:00 AM, worship your savior, and fellowship with friends and neighbors. Your family is then invited to attend adult and children small groups at 9:00 AM.
Summer Celebration
We will celebrate VBS Sunday for our neighborhood children and their families on Sunday, July 21st. The Care Committee will have an ice cream social reception immediately following the 10:30 AM service to conclude that celebration.
We Welcome All Volunteers
Gary Floyd and other volunteers have been getting together on Wednesday mornings to spruce up the church buildings and grounds. We have been trimming trees and bushes, power washing, and looking for inexpensive ways to improve the appearance of our campus. If you are available on Wednesday mornings, we would love to have you join us.
Our head usher has recently sold his home and moved to Bradenton, so we are looking for a replacement. Usher tasks are simple, and anyone who plans to attend church regularly can be easily trained. Both men and women would be considered. Contact Jack Findlay or Carole Bradley to see how you can help in this capacity.
Youth News
Youth who are planning to attend summer camp and Warren Willis need to turn in their signed camp application as soon as possible. R.U.S.H. has reserved the week beginning July 22nd. Those parents and youth with questions should contact Pastor Rick Phillips.
English and Spanish GED Classes
Coming in the Fall
Lay Pastor Norma Encarnacion and RUMC is partnering with the neighborhood ECHO facility to provide English and Spanish GED classes in the fall of 2019. Enrollment for these classes will begin in August. Look in this space for more details and enrollment information.
8002 U. S. Highway 301 South, Riverview, FL 33578 813-677-5995
Download the Prayer Tree for
June 16, 2019 from this link.
Download the June, 2019
Bell Newsletter from this link.
Online Giving at RUMC
Giving online is easy and allows you to set up automatic recurring contributions and view your complete online giving history from anywhere you have access to the Internet. Or you can enter one-time contributions from the internet or by smart phone.
To get started, simply follow these easy steps:
- Click on the Online Giving button below. This will take you to our church’s online giving webpage.
- Click on our Create Profile button on that webpage.
- Follow the onscreen instructions to create an online profile and to schedule your recurring or one-time contributions.
Bible Verse for the Week
Love God and Others—Not the World’s Ways
Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from Him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.
1 John 2:15-17 (The Message)
Roar! at Vacation Bible School
Vacation Bible School at Riverview UMC will be held from Monday, July 15th through Friday, July 19th. Each session will start at 6:30 PM and go until 8:30 PM.
The theme this year is Roar! Based on a wild Africa theme. At Roar! kids experience God’s goodness in a number of circumstances, learn about African children live and play, and celebrate a ferocious faith that will help them through this wild life!
You can register online at this website.
We will celebrate our VBS experience with the children and their families on Sunday, July 21st. There will be an ice cream social reception immediately following the 10:30 AM service to make the celebration complete.
